Stuck With Yourself and Me
by VegasGoddess
Summary: GSR At Greg's housewarming party, Catherine catches Grissom and Sara squabbling. Again. Deciding that they are not going to ruin the party, she locks them both in an empty room and says, "Deal with yourselves."


**Title:** Stuck With Yourself and Me

**Summary: **At Greg's housewarming party, Catherine catches Grissom and Sara squabbling. Again. Deciding that they _are not_ going to ruin the party, she locks them in an empty room and says, 'Deal with yourselves'.

**Spoilers:** "Play With Fire"; "Invisible Evidence"; "Butterflied";

**Disclaimer: **Don't own anything except for Season Six on DVD, all eight novels, and the 'Ultimate CSI' book signed by Jon Wellner and David Berman. So, nothing of any real importance.

**A/N: **This HAS to go out to Jasmine, who came up with the title, the idea, and Greg's housewarming party. Jazzy, if it werent for you, this wouldn't be a story! This one is absolutely and totally for you!

* * *

**Stuck With Yourself and Me**

Catherine Willows watched the pair in the corner, knowing that if someone didn't interrupt their bickering soon, they'd turn it into a full screaming match.

Again.

She made her way over slowly, checking over her shoulder every couple of steps for the homeowner. He wasn't around to see them.

Good.

Their whispering voices were growing progressively louder, and Catherine was afraid of making a scene. She needed to get these two somewhere so that they could talk properly without embarrassing themselves, or others.

"Gil, Sara?" she asked tentatively, not wanting to startle them.

"What!?" they both snapped, turning to look at her.

"Uh… could you take this… _conversation_ outside or something? People are starting to stare," she said.

"Well screw them," Sara said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't care what they do."

Catherine sighed. Sara wouldn't change her mind now. Trying another tactic, she turned to Grissom. "They're watching you Gil. Whatever you two are arguing about you want it kept private, otherwise you wouldn't have been whispering. Out here, it's not private."

Grissom frowned, realizing that she was right. He shrugged and started to walk away.

Sara however, was not wavering. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. "I don't think so Grissom. You _are not_ walking away from me. Not again."

He stopped, only so more people wouldn't look at them. He turned around, crossing his arms in a stance mirroring Sara's. He stared at her, not saying anything.

Catherine stood off to the side, watching them. It only took a few seconds before she figured out that they weren't fighting over anything important. It was just another one of their non-lover squabbles.

_These two are pathetic,_ she thought angrily. Thinking quickly, she remembered Greg saying during the tour that his new home had an empty, soundproof room downstairs. With a lock.

Perfect.

She stepped forward and grabbed Sara and Grissom, pulling them towards the stairs.

"What are you doing?" Sara asked, struggling slightly.

"Giving you a more private place to talk," she answered.

"I told you, I don't care –"

"Well I do," Catherine snapped, cutting her off. "So you two will be in this room until you can play nicely."

"Motherhood has really gotten to you, hasn't it?" Grissom quipped as they arrived.

"Yes it has. Now do not come out until you're ready. I really don't care how long it takes for the two of you to figure out what needs to be figured out. We'll just tell Greg to feed you once in a while."

With those last words, she pushed them into the room and let the door slam shut, leaving the distinctive echoing of a lock locking in the air.

**OoOoOoO**

Sara gulped slowly, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic. Here she was, locked in an empty room. With her boss. Who was Grissom.

Great…

**OoOoOoO**

Grissom was in no better shape than Sara. In all the times he'd envisioned himself locked in a room with her, the scenarios were never _quite_ like this one.

It was getting harder, trying to control himself around her. The time was now long gone when he could convince himself that he didn't harbour any special feelings for her. He wanted her, and that was going to be a problem.

**OoOoOoO**

Sara went to the door and pulled, pushed, shoved, did everything in her power to open the door, but it was useless.

And Grissom told her so. "It's useless Sara. The door won't open. We're stuck in here until we can figure out how to 'play nicely' with one another."

"Thanks Grissom," she snapped, leaning against the door then slowly sliding down to sit on the floor with her legs spread out before her.

The image left a _very_ erotic thought in his mind before he frantically pushed it away, wanting to leave this room whole and not in the box he was sure Sara would put him in if she knew what he was thinking.

"No need to be rude to me Sara. I was only telling you the truth."

_You? The truth? I don't think so…_"Grissom, whatever. How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?"

"By playing nicely."

"What, you mean stop fighting? Fine. I can do that. Grissom, I will no longer work as much overtime as I do now. Happy?"

Grissom sighed. "I don't think that's what Catherine meant," he said, ignoring the cracks of protest from his knees as he sat down across from her.

"Then what does she want from us!?" Sara asked, exasperated.

"I think she wants us to figure out what to do about 'this'."

"Wow. Wait. Back up. Last time _I_ checked, _you_ were the one who didn't know what to do about 'this'. So I think she wants _you_ to figure out what to do."

"Then why would she lock _both _of us down here?"

"Because you obviously can't figure it out on your own?"

He laughed. "I don't think so…"

"To tempt you then? To show you what you've been missing for a _very_ long time?"

She leaned back against the door and stuck her chest out, making her shirt pull which showed the bare flesh of her toned stomach. The black cargo shorts she was wearing only enhanced the view of her incredibly long legs, causing Grissom to have some problems.

He could feel his body reacting almost violently towards her, and he shut his eyes tightly, effectively making it worse. Behind closed lids, Sara could do anything, be anything, wear anything…

Opening them slowly, he saw the trademark 'Sara Smirk' and realized that she was clearly enjoying his discomfort. And although he hadn't quite totally embarrassed himself yet, he could feel his flushed face and hear his ragged breathing.

Sara was a dangerous weapon to his heart and body.

She sat up straight and tucked her long legs beneath her. "Grissom," she asked, watching him closely. "Why can't you just admit that you want me?"

Surprised by her gall, his head shot up. "What?"

"When I first moved here – after you'd called me, of course – I sort of thought that there was a connection between us. And I thought you felt it too. I was apparently wrong, however, when you so bluntly said no to my dinner invite."

"You weren't wrong," he said quietly.

"Oh. Well… anyway, I _thought_ I was wrong, so I tried to move on. I was hurt of course, my heart was torn up, my body ached and my head pounded. But I told myself to get through it."

Grissom watched as these blunt confessions came tumbling from her lips and marvelled at how his arms ached to hold her tightly as she unravelled and brought the walls down.

"And I started to get through it," she continued, "and I was almost okay until –"

"Until what?" he urged, moving closer to her.

"Until that night when I asked you to pin me down."

Wave after wave of emotion rolled through Grissom as he remembered that night. He remembered the way her skin had felt, soft, smooth, flushed. The way her eyes had lit up at his nearness, and the heat just radiating off of her body. How she felt beneath him.

He remembered how close he'd been to letting himself go, how he'd almost succumbed to her. How almost every night since then had been haunted by that moment in time.

And then he would always remember how she'd abruptly pulled away, and began to over talk, and how her words had sliced through his heart, leaving gaping wounds unable to heal.

Sara stared at him, the flirty behaviour from earlier gone. All Grissom could see now was raw pain, caused solely by himself.

He didn't know what to do. How do you console someone who you've hurt continuously over the past four and a half years?

"I'm sorry."

Sara shook her head. "That doesn't mean much to me anymore Grissom. Not when you say it."

"I – Sara…"

"After that night Griss, I didn't know what to think. I thought maybe that 'connection' had resurfaced, and that maybe we'd – I would have a chance. But that one case… and all my hopes and dreams went away."

"What case?" he asked.

"The Debbie Marlin one."

Grissom swallowed audibly. "And why did they all go away?" he asked, although he was pretty damn sure he knew the reason.

Sara looked up at him with haunted and red-rimmed eyes. "My hopes and dreams went away _Grissom_," the emphasis of his own name deafening even to his own ears, "because I found out more about you in the space of two minutes than I've ever managed to learn over the past ten or so years that we've known each other."

He looked at her, confused.

"I heard what you said." There. She'd done it. Finally told him that she knew. That she'd heard. That she'd been there, watching.

"You – what?"

"I know how you feel. You want me, but you just won't take me because I'm a threat to your job. Fair enough, I suppose, but don't you think I should've known that before you told a cold-blooded killer?"

"You don't know what I feel Sara. You don't know what it's like," he said quietly.

_If you'd let me in you moron, I would know!_ she felt like screaming at him. "Sure I do. You want me, but you can't have me. I feel the same way about you. So –"

"No Sara!" he shouted, startling her into silence. "You _do not_ know what it's like."

"I –"

"Shh. Listen to me. Just please, stop talking."

Sara saw that he was going to reveal something personally important, and he didn't often do that, so she stopped talking and began to listen.

"You don't know what it's like Sara, to be in love with someone so young and so beautiful. Someone who's got their entire life still before them. You don't know what it feels like to be a dead weight in their life, only dragging them down. To dream of them every night wishing they were there in your arms. You don't know what it's like to love someone so much that it makes your entire body ache."

He stopped to breathe. "Sara… you don't know what it's like for me to be in love with you."

Grissom stared up at her with the saddest pair of eyes she had ever seen. Her poor Grissom needed someone to hold him.

She was _definitely_ more than willing.

Sliding over slightly, she slipped her hand into his. When he didn't do anything, she took it as a sign to continue.

Grasping his other hand, they both moved so that they were facing each other, all the while holding hands.

Once they were both comfortable, Sara spoke. "You're right Griss. I don't know what it's like to be in love with me."

She pushed a stray lock of brown hair behind her ear. "But I _do_ know what it's like to be in love with an older, more intelligent man. I do know what it's like to love him so much it hurts, and to dream of him every night, in between the nightmares. And I know the feeling _very_ well of being in love… with you."

Now he stared up at her with hopeful confusion.

Sara gave him a small smile and leaned forward, pulling him into an awkward hug.

Grissom's back quickly protested, and he pulled away slightly, never breaking contact with her skin. Together they stood, and he wrapped his arms tightly yet tenderly around her, in a peace offering; a fresh start.

Sara held him tightly as well, afraid to let him go. Quickly the weight of what this could all mean for both of them made her knees buckle and she sank to the floor again, bringing Grissom with her.

He still held onto her, clinging like a drowning man would to a life saver. That was what she was to him. His life. And his saviour.

When Sara spoke, her voice was chock full of emotion. "So… let me get this straight. You say you know what it's like to be in love with me, and I say I know what it's like to be in love with you. So…"

"So now we're both wondering if the other one is telling the truth." His arms were still wrapped around her, but there was a hesitancy about it now.

She smiled somewhat sheepishly. "I – I guess so…" She leaned into him, and his arms automatically tightened.

"I'm telling the truth, Sara. I really am."

She nodded. "Me too. I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't lie to you. I can't lie to you."

He nodded as well, staying silent. They stayed that way for a long time, sitting quietly, and thinking of how these new revelations were going to change their lives for the better.

Finally though, when Sara could take it no longer, she broke the silence. "Griss? Why are we so stupid!? Do you know how many years we've wasted?"

"Correction. Do you know how many years _I've_ wasted? You were always willing. It's my fault we've been unhappy for all these years."

"Why?"

"Because I'm a fool."

Sara stared at him. "Why?" she repeated again.

"Because love turns you into a fool and makes you do foolish things."

She dropped her head onto his chest in defeat. "Grissom…"

"No more honey. No more. I'm not a fool anymore. I'm ready to let you in."

"Are you really Grissom?"

"Yes Sara, I am."

"Okay."

Grissom smiled, really smiled, for the first time in a long time. "I think Catherine will be pleased," he said, standing up. "We've learned to play nicely."

Sara smiled back and stood as well. Needing his arms around her again, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

He hugged her back, squeezing tightly before letting go and trailing a hand down her arm to encase her hand in his own. With his other, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After he'd dialled a number, he said, "Catherine, we've learned. Let us out now."

Not even five minutes later, the heavy door swung open and they were allowed back to the party.

Catherine took one look at them and knew something had changed. She tried to talk to them, but Grissom shook his head and led Sara to the front door with a hand safely placed on the small of her back.

Sara yelled out a quick congratulations to Greg, who was making his way over to Catherine.

"Thanks!" he yelled back. "And you too!" He winked and turned away. Greg stood with Catherine and watched as the retreating couple left his house. "Nice work Catherine. I think they figured it out."

"Thanks," she said, sipping a martini. "They just needed a push in the right direction. That direction just happened to be to each other."

"They'll be happy now, you'll be happy now… it's all good."

"It _is _all good Greggo. It is all good." She winked and smiled, and then turned back to the party at hand.

* * *

**-End-**


End file.
